Israel Zangwill

Israel Zangwill (1864-1926) was born in London to Jewish immigrants from Czarist Russia. A playwright, novelist, and humorist, he often took on the subjects of Zionism, Jewish nationalism and assimilation, as well as feminism and pacifism. His 1908 play The Melting Pot popularized the titular phrase and his 1891 The Big Bow Mystery has been called the first locked-room murder novel.